Apparatus, system and method for improving user fitness by tracking activity time

ABSTRACT

The present invention is and includes an apparatus, system and method of providing a schedule for improving fitness of a user by tracking activity time. The apparatus, system and method may include at least one user interface suitable for accepting a plurality of user information regarding the user; at least one database including a plurality of exercise activities coded at least by time; a matching engine suitable for selecting a fitness program including ones of the plurality of exercise activities matched, correspondent to the respective coded times, to the plurality of user information; and an electronic calendar of the fitness program suitable for receiving updates from the user regarding completion of the coded times for each of the matched ones of the exercise activities of the fitness program.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationSer. No. 61/594,816, filed Feb. 3, 2012, entitled Apparatus, System andMethod for Improving User Fitness By Tracking Activity Time, theentirety of which is expressly incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention is directed to improving user fitness, and, moreparticularly, is directed to an apparatus, system and method forimproving user fitness by tracking activity time.

2. Description of the Background

Improving user fitness, health and overall well being has become amulti-billion industry worldwide. However, improved fitness typicallyrequires a user to understand the different aspects of exercise, and todedicate him or herself to tasks the user finds unpleasant, or at leastvery inconvenient.

For example, it is generally understood that the aspects of exerciseinclude cardiovascular fitness, which is the fitness level of the heart,lungs, veins and arteries that are responsible for processing andtransporting oxygen to the muscles (i.e., as your fitness improves, theheart becomes more efficient at pumping more blood with fewercontractions); muscular strength, which is the strength to performeveryday tasks like lifting, carrying, and even comfortably standing(i.e., as muscular strength improves, the muscles become stronger andthese tasks can be performed with less exertion); muscular endurance,which is the stamina to continue exerting muscular strength over periodsof time (i.e., as endurance improves, the user will be able to exert forlonger time periods); and flexibility, which is the ability to movefreely and have a high range of motion in the joints (i.e., asflexibility improves, posture improves and muscular tension, atrophy andstiffness decrease).

In application, the aforementioned types of fitness are deemed by thefitness industry to be best achieved only by well understood means. Forexample, aerobic exercise is typically prescribed to improvecardiovascular fitness; weightlifting is often prescribed to improvestrength and endurance; and yoga and low impact aerobics are typicallyprescribed to improve flexibility. However, because each of these typesof fitness is affected by age, inactivity, and like factors, it istypical that the users who would benefit most from each time ofexercise, i.e., those over 30 years old and those who are currentlyinactive, are also those who deem themselves to busy for the typicallyprescribed exercises, or too sedentary to begin the prescribedexercises.

On the other hand, it is also typically recommended that moderately tovery active persons engage in exercise of any type daily, and thatmoderately inactive to inactive persons engage in exercise of any typeevery other day. However, because of the typical prescription of theaforementioned exercises, most users deem this recommendation of dailyor semi-daily exercise to mean that the user must engage in one of theforegoing described activities in those timeframes, i.e., aerobics,weightlifting, or yoga. This understanding of most users regarding howto improve fitness is incorrect.

Rather, most users would benefit greatly simply by engaging in someactivity (not necessarily the typically prescribed exercises) eitherdaily, semi-daily, or the like. In fact, by way of non-limiting example,an average user could improve fitness simply by going up and down a fewflights of stairs at his or her parking garage at work every day, ratherthan taking the elevator. However, the available art fails to give theaverage user the option to monitor activity by time as a way ofimproving fitness.

Therefore, the need exists for an apparatus, system and method ofimproving user fitness by tracking activity time.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is and includes an apparatus, system and method ofproviding a schedule for improving fitness of a user by trackingactivity time. The apparatus, system and method may include at least oneuser interface stored remotely over a network from the user and suitablefor accepting a plurality of user information regarding the user; atleast one database including a plurality of exercise activities coded atleast by time; a matching engine suitable for selecting a fitnessprogram including ones of the plurality of exercise activities matched,by the matching engine and correspondent to the respective coded times,to the plurality of user information; and an electronic calendar of thefitness program provided to at least one of the at least one userinterface for the user, communicative with the matching engine andsuitable for receiving updates from the user regarding completion of thecoded times for each of the matched ones of the exercise activities ofthe fitness program.

The present invention is and further includes an apparatus, system andmethod of providing a schedule for improving fitness of a plurality ofusers by tracking active time. The apparatus, system and method mayinclude at least one administrative user interface suitable foraccepting a plurality of challenges for ones of the plurality of users,wherein each of the plurality of challenges comprises at leastaggregated active time; at least one database comprising a plurality ofexercise activities selectable for inclusion in ones of the plurality ofchallenges and coded in the at least one database at least by time; achallenge engine suitable for providing to select ones of the pluralityusers the ones of the plurality of challenges related, according to theat least one administrative user interface, to the select ones of theplurality of users; and an electronic calendar provided to each of theselect ones of the plurality of users that illustrates to the select oneof the users accessing the electronic calendar at least progress of theselect one of the users toward the aggregated active time of the relatedones of the plurality of challenges.

Thus, the present invention provides at least an apparatus, system andmethod of improving user fitness by tracking activity time

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings are included to provide a furtherunderstanding of the disclosed embodiments. In the drawings, likenumerals represent like elements, and:

FIG. 1 is a flow diagram illustrating aspects of an exemplary method ofthe present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating aspects of an exemplaryapparatus and system of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating aspects of an exemplaryapparatus and system of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a screen shot illustrating exemplary aspects of the presentinvention;

FIG. 5 is a screen shot illustrating exemplary aspects of the presentinvention;

FIG. 6 is a screen shot illustrating exemplary aspects of the presentinvention;

FIG. 7 is a screen shot illustrating exemplary aspects of the presentinvention;

FIG. 8 is a screen shot illustrating exemplary aspects of the presentinvention;

FIG. 9 is a screen shot illustrating exemplary aspects of the presentinvention;

FIG. 10 is a screen shot illustrating exemplary aspects of the presentinvention;

FIG. 11 is a screen shot illustrating exemplary aspects of the presentinvention;

FIG. 12 is a screen shot illustrating exemplary aspects of the presentinvention;

FIG. 13 is a screen shot illustrating exemplary aspects of the presentinvention;

FIG. 14 is a screen shot illustrating exemplary aspects of the presentinvention;

FIG. 15 is a screen shot illustrating exemplary aspects of the presentinvention;

FIG. 16 is a screen shot illustrating exemplary aspects of the presentinvention;

FIG. 17 is a screen shot illustrating exemplary aspects of the presentinvention;

FIG. 18 is a screen shot illustrating exemplary aspects of the presentinvention;

FIG. 19 is a screen shot illustrating exemplary aspects of the presentinvention;

FIG. 20 is a screen shot illustrating exemplary aspects of the presentinvention;

FIG. 21 is a screen shot illustrating exemplary aspects of the presentinvention;

FIG. 22 is a screen shot illustrating exemplary aspects of the presentinvention;

FIG. 23 is a screen shot illustrating exemplary aspects of the presentinvention;

FIG. 24 is a screen shot illustrating exemplary aspects of the presentinvention;

FIG. 25 is a screen shot illustrating exemplary aspects of the presentinvention;

FIG. 26 is a screen shot illustrating exemplary aspects of the presentinvention;

FIG. 27 is a screen shot illustrating exemplary aspects of the presentinvention;

FIG. 28 is a screen shot illustrating exemplary aspects of the presentinvention;

FIG. 29 is a screen shot illustrating exemplary aspects of the presentinvention;

FIG. 30 is a screen shot illustrating exemplary aspects of the presentinvention;

FIG. 31 is a screen shot illustrating exemplary aspects of the presentinvention;

FIG. 32 is a screen shot illustrating exemplary aspects of the presentinvention;

FIG. 33 is a screen shot illustrating exemplary aspects of the presentinvention;

FIG. 34 is a screen shot illustrating exemplary aspects of the presentinvention;

FIG. 35 is a screen shot illustrating exemplary aspects of the presentinvention;

FIG. 36 is a screen shot illustrating exemplary aspects of the presentinvention;

FIG. 37 is a screen shot illustrating exemplary aspects of the presentinvention;

FIG. 38 is a screen shot illustrating exemplary aspects of the presentinvention;

FIG. 39 is a screen shot illustrating exemplary aspects of the presentinvention;

FIG. 40 is a screen shot illustrating exemplary aspects of the presentinvention;

FIG. 41 is a screen shot illustrating exemplary aspects of the presentinvention;

FIG. 42 is a screen shot illustrating exemplary aspects of the presentinvention;

FIG. 43 is a screen shot illustrating exemplary aspects of the presentinvention;

FIG. 44 is a screen shot illustrating exemplary aspects of the presentinvention;

FIG. 45 is a screen shot illustrating exemplary aspects of the presentinvention;

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

It is to be understood that the figures and descriptions of the presentinvention have been simplified to illustrate elements that are relevantfor a clear understanding of the present invention, while eliminating,for the purpose of clarity, many other elements typically found incomputerized apparatuses, systems and methods. Those of ordinary skillin the art will thus recognize that other elements and/or steps are thusdesirable and/or required in implementing the present invention.However, because such elements and steps are well known in the art, andbecause they do not facilitate a better understanding of the presentinvention, a discussion of such elements and steps is not providedherein. The disclosure herein is directed to all such variations andmodifications to such elements and methods known to those skilled in theart. Furthermore, the embodiments identified and illustrated herein arefor exemplary purposes only, and are not meant to be exclusive orlimited in their description of the present invention.

As referenced hereinabove, it is a frequent goal of persons to improvehealth, wellness and/or fitness status. To that end, the current artprovides a myriad of offerings for persons at different levels ofhealth, wellness or fitness (hereinthroughout also collectively referredto as “fitness”) to improve their respective levels. However, suchofferings are provided in relation to activities that users do nottypically monitor, such as steps, types of exercise, calories burned, orthe like, and are thus not dedicated to information that users dotypically monitor, such as time. More particularly, to the extent timeis tracked in the current art, such available fitness programs tracktime correspondent to the exercise performed for a period of time or inrelation to calories burned, rather than simply tracking time as activetime that will directly correlate to improved fitness. The modificationof behavior that leads to improved fitness is, however, most readilyperformed by simplifying the factors to be monitored by the persondesiring to improve fitness. As such, the tracking of the singularfactor of time stands the greatest chance of causing behaviormodifications such that fitness may be improved.

FIG. 1 illustrates a method in accordance with the present invention. Atstep 902, a user may be asked for or provided with log-in information,which log-in information may be unique to the present invention or maybe part of a larger fitness, wellness, health-care, gym choice, or likeprogram. In an embodiment, at the inception of use and upon logging infor the first time, a user may be asked to provide personal information,body information such as height, weight, or body mass index, age,fitness level, exercise level, or the like.

At step 904, the user may preferably be asked for activity preferences,such as whether the user prefers walking, running, participatory videowatching, or the like. The user may preferably be enabled to respondthat the user doesn't know what exercise the user prefers, in order toaccount for the fact that some users may not currently engage in anyfitness activities, and/or may not have activity preferences.Correspondingly, the user may be asked as to the user's current activitylevel, and may be given the option to respond that the user is notcurrently active. The user may further be asked, such as heirarchically,as to the user's activity preferences. For example, if the user selectsthat the user prefers to engage in participatory exercise videos, theuser may be asked what type of classes the user prefers to participatein on video.

At step 906, the user may be asked for, or provided with, personal goalsfor the user's activity program, wherein such goals are defined by timeaccording to the present invention. That is, the user may be providedwith an exercise program correspondent to the user's current activitylevel, wherein the exercise program is designed to maintain userinterest, such as by blending videos, and walking, and wherein thepersonal goals provided for the user are correspondent to certain timeperiods of activity, rather than types of activity as in the availableart.

In the course of obtaining the above-referenced information, anddeveloping the personal goals for the user, the user may, of course, beasked for and/or provided with a variety of information. For example,the user may be asked as to preferred modes of communication, whereinthe preferred methods suggested to the user may be e-mail orSMS/text/MMS. Further, the user may be asked for a variety of healthinformation, which the user may or may not be required to provide. Suchrequested information may include, for example, information regardingthe user's eating habits, the user's health history, the user'soccupation, the user's income level, or the like. The more informationgarnered by the present invention, the more likely a desirable fitnessprogram will be provided to the user. Thereby, the user may beincentivized to provide more complete and adequate information, and thusthe volume of information accumulated in the present invention may behighly valuable for use by advertisers, marketers, health-careproviders, and the like, particularly in aggregated form such as toprotect the privacy of individual user's, and/or to provide highlytargeted offerings to particular users.

Further, irrespective of the amount of information entered, it ispreferred that the recommended exercise program not only be tracked bytime, as referenced above, but further that the program provided be adetailed program targeted to the current and desired fitness level ofthe particular user, as best as that level can be assessed based on theinformation provided by the user.

In the exemplary screen shots discussed below, the use of one or moreclient interfaces is illustrated in accordance with the method discussedabove—that is, the illustration includes the offering of a program thattracks exercise time for each user, including the sign-up/log-in of theuser, the entry of sign up-login information into a relational databaseas related to the particular user, the obtaining of relevant exerciserelated information correspondent to the user's information, theobtaining from the database of one or more detailed, relevantrecommended exercise programs tailored to the user's enteredinformation, and the like. As will be understood by the those skilled inthe art and as will be appreciated with respect to the followingfigures, multiple templates may be provided, wherein underlying contentfor each page template may be varied without departing from the scope orspirit of the invention. Such templates may include, by way ofnon-limiting example, one or more common landing pages, one or moreregistration pages, and one or more program/offerings/calendaring pages.

More particularly with respect to a program page as used herein, aprogram may include any pre-created activity that is matched by fitnesslevel and that is provided for the purpose of monitoring exercise bytime. A program administrator page may be provided on the back end ofthe present invention to allow an administrator to create, change, add,or delete such programs over time. Programs may thus include, forexample, walking programs, running programs, and video-based programs.

Further, a program, as the term is used herein, may include one or morechallenges that begin, end, or have a duration that is pre-defined. Achallenge administrator may be an administrator that can create, change,add, or delete programs over time, for example. Further, a user or anadministrator may create teams to compete with one another duringchallenges, in addition to an individual user's participation in achallenge, by way of non-limiting example only.

FIG. 2 depicts an exemplary computing system 100 for use in accordancewith herein described apparatus, system and method. Computing system 100is capable of executing software, such as an operating system (OS) and avariety of computing applications 190, including thick and thin clientapplications, by way of non-limiting example. Such applications mayinclude, by way of non-limiting example, the fitness application(s)discussed herein.

The operation of exemplary computing system 100 is controlled primarilyby computer readable instructions, such as instructions stored in anon-transitory manner on a computer readable storage medium, such ashard disk drive (HDD) 115, optical disk (not shown) such as a CD or DVD,solid state drive (not shown) such as a USB “thumb drive,” a remoteserver or servers (not shown), or the like. Such instructions may beexecuted within central processing unit (CPU) 110 to cause computingsystem 100 to perform operations. Thereby, the CPU 110 may access orexecute computing code instructions from storage medium 115 tocollectively provide the engine(s), such as the matching engine and thechallenge engine, that provide the time tracked fitness program systemsand methods discussed hereinthroughout.

It is appreciated that, although exemplary computing system 100 is shownto comprise a single CPU 110, such description is merely illustrative ascomputing system 100 may comprise a plurality of CPUs 110. Additionally,computing system 100 may exploit the resources of remote CPUs (notshown), for example, through communications network 170 or some otherdata communications means.

In operation, CPU 110 fetches, decodes, and executes instructions from acomputer readable storage medium such as HDD 115. Such instructions canbe included in software such as an operating system (OS), executableprograms, and the like. Information, such as computer instructions andother computer readable data, is transferred between components ofcomputing system 100 via the system's main data-transfer path. The maindata-transfer path may use a system bus architecture 105, although othercomputer architectures (not shown) can be used, such as architecturesusing serializers and deserializers and crossbar switches to communicatedata between devices over serial communication paths. System bus 105 caninclude data lines for sending data, address lines for sendingaddresses, and control lines for sending interrupts and for operatingthe system bus. Some busses provide bus arbitration that regulatesaccess to the bus by extension cards, controllers, and CPU 110.

Memory devices coupled to system bus 105 can include random accessmemory (RAM) 125 and read only memory (ROM) 130. Such memories includecircuitry that allows information, such as the databases, relationaldatabases, and the like discussed hereinthroughout, to be stored andretrieved. ROMs 130 generally contain stored data that cannot bemodified. Data stored in RAM 125 can be read or changed by CPU 110 orother hardware devices. Access to RAM 125 and/or ROM 130 may becontrolled by memory controller 120. Memory controller 120 may providean address translation function that translates virtual addresses intophysical addresses as instructions are executed. Memory controller 120may also provide a memory protection function that isolates processeswithin the system and isolates system processes from user processes.

Display 160, which is controlled by display controller 155, can be usedto display visual output and/or presentation generated by or at therequest of computing system 100. Such visual output may include text,graphics, animated graphics, and/or video, for example. Display 160 maybe implemented with a CRT-based video display, an LCD-based flat-paneldisplay, gas plasma-based flat-panel display, touch-panel, or the like.Display controller 155 includes electronic components required togenerate a video signal that is sent to display 160.

Further, computing system 100 may contain network adapter 165 which maybe used to couple computing system 100 to an external communicationnetwork 170, which may include or provide access to the Internet and/orthe aforementioned remote servers and/or the aforementioned storagedevices. Communications network 170 may provide user access forcomputing system 100 with means of communicating and transferringsoftware and information electronically. Additionally, communicationsnetwork 170 may provide for distributed processing, which involvesseveral computers and the sharing of workloads or cooperative efforts inperforming a task. It is appreciated that the network connections shownare exemplary and other means of establishing communications linksbetween computing system 100 and remote users may be used.

It is appreciated that exemplary computing system 100 is merelyillustrative of a computing environment in which the herein describedsystems and methods may operate. Thus, the exemplary system discusseddoes not limit the implementation of the herein described systems andmethods in computing environments having differing components andconfigurations, as the inventive concepts described herein may beimplemented in various computing environments using various componentsand configurations.

As shown in FIG. 3, computing system 100 may be deployed in networkedcomputing environment 200. In general, the above description forcomputing system 100 applies to server, client, and peer computersdeployed in a networked environment, for example, server 205,tablet/laptop/mobile computer 210, and desktop computer 230. FIG. 3illustrates an exemplary illustrative networked computing environment200, with a server in communication with client computing and/orcommunicating devices via a communications network, in which the hereindescribed apparatus and methods may be employed.

As shown in FIG. 3, server 205 may be interconnected via acommunications network 240 (which may include any of, or any combinationof, a fixed-wire or wireless LAN, WAN, intranet, extranet, peer-to-peernetwork, virtual private network, the Internet, or other communicationsnetwork such as POTS, ISDN, VoIP, PSTN, etc.) with a number of clientcomputing/communication devices such as laptop computer 210, wirelessmobile telephone 215, wired telephone 220, personal digital assistant225, user desktop computer 230, and/or other communication enableddevices (not shown). Server 205 may comprise dedicated servers operableto process and communicate data such as digital content 250 to and fromclient devices 210, 215, 220, 225, 230, etc. using any of a number ofknown protocols, such as hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP), filetransfer protocol (FTP), simple object access protocol (SOAP), wirelessapplication protocol (WAP), or the like. Additionally, networkedcomputing environment 200 may utilize various data security protocolssuch as secured socket layer (SSL), pretty good privacy (PGP), virtualprivate network (VPN) security, or the like. Each client device 210,215, 220, 225, 230, etc., may be equipped with an operating systemoperable to support one or more computing and/or communicationapplications, such as a web browser (not shown), email (not shown), orthe like, to interact with server 205.

FIG. 4 is an exemplary screen shot in accordance with the time-trackedfitness system discussed herein. The exemplary screen shot may beprovided on the afore-discussed computer display, such as a thin clientinterface available over at least one network. The illustrative screenshot shows a user several options to begin a time monitored fitnessprogram. The options include, for example, entering the program,logging-in to an existing account within the program, obtaining fitnessinformation, and the like. The screen shot of FIG. 4 may be provided,for example, when a user logs-in from a computer on which they are not“cookied” but for a user who has an existing account, or for a user whodoes not have an existing account.

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary registration template screen, such asfor a new user to the time tracked fitness program. As illustrated, afirst registration screen may obtain very basic information regardingthe new user, and may provide a log-in. Further, a user may havereceived an invitation, such as by e-mail, to join the time-trackedfitness program, and in this event an identification code associatedwith the invitation may be entered, manually or automatically based onmetadata in the invite, at the illustrated registration screen.

FIG. 6 is a screen shot illustrating further information that may begained at registration. As illustrated, a user may be asked to providean indication of the user's overall health or fitness, which indicationmay be modified by the user over time, or which indication may bemodified automatically, at least in part, as the user engages in thetime tracked fitness program. By way of non-limiting example, FIG. 6illustrates that a user may assess his or her energy level, his/hersatisfaction with his/her current looks, his/her assessment of his/heroverall health, and/or his/her assessment of his/her quality of life. Asunderstood by those skilled in the art, and as discussed above, thisinformation may be entered to, for example, a database wherein thisinformation will be associated with the other information of the userobtained at log-in, and further that this information may beaccumulated, such as anonymously, across multiple users, such as foradvertising and/or marketing purposes.

FIG. 7 is a screen shot illustrating further information that may beobtained from the user upon registration, and/or that may be modified bythe user during the program, and/or may be modified by the programautomatically. The illustrated information of FIG. 7 relates to theuser's body, and includes the user's physical condition, the user'scoordination, the user's strength, and the user's flexibility. Needlessto say, the information of FIGS. 6, 7, and 8, and/or additionalinformation obtained from the user at registration or thereafter, may beprovided on multiple screens, such as a quick login as discussedelsewhere herein, or may be provided on a single screen through whichthe user can scroll during and throughout the different aspectsdiscussed herein.

FIG. 8 is a screen shot illustrating a user's input upon registration,which may be modified post-registration, and in this case the user'sinput is with regard to the user's exercise habits. As shown, and by wayof non-limiting example, a user may enter information with respect tothe user's exercise experience level, the user's exercise knowledge, theuser's motivation, the user's knowledge of nutrition, and the user'seating habits. Again, this information may be associated with the userin the database, and may likewise be accumulated for use in advertisingor marketing. Further, the features entered by the user, such as thoseillustrated in FIGS. 6-8, may be used to drive the detailed generationof the user's targeted, time-tracked exercise program.

By way of further example, the user's generation of a recommendedexercise program may include consideration of the user's enteredpreferences. For example, and as illustrated in FIG. 9, the user may beasked preferences as to walking, running, exercise classes, other typesof exercise, and the user may additionally be offered an option of notknowing what the user's activity preferences are. This last option, forexample, allows the present invention to include or design detailedexercise programs for those users who were previously engaged in littleor no activity. FIG. 10 further illustrates other exemplary aspects ofuser activity preferences, such as whether the user prefers cardioexercises, strength exercises, or stress relief and relaxationexercises.

As illustrated in FIG. 11, the key aspect to the detailed design of auser's time tracked fitness program may be the user's current commitmentto activity time, particularly in view of the user's commitment thatwill be required to obtain a desired fitness level. FIG. 11 shows thatthe user may be asked at what level the user is currently active, suchas per day, per week, per month, or the like. In the embodiment of FIG.11, the user is asked whether he or she is inactive, active less thanone hour per week, active one to two and half hours per week, active twoand a half to five hours per week, or active more than five hours perweek. Obviously, those skilled in the art will appreciate that such timecommitment levels are indicative of a user's current state of health,that is, a user that is currently inactive is likely to be very unfit,while a user who is active more than five hours per week is likely to bemoderately to significantly fit.

FIG. 12 is an exemplary screen shot that illustrates that a user of thepresent invention may preferably set forth personal goals for his or herfitness. Further, as illustrated, the present invention may ask that theuser commit more to the user's fitness than the user's current activitylevel entered in FIG. 11, such as in an attempt to design a program toimprove the user's fitness. Further, as illustrated in FIG. 12 and asmay be the case throughout the screen shot illustrations in the presentinvention, the user may be provided with information, data,recommendations, or the like that may improve the user's fitness. Suchinformation or data may be targeted to the user based on informationentered by the user throughout the screen shots, may be genericallyprovided to all users at various points throughout the screen shots,and/or may include targeted advertisements to the user throughout thescreen shots of the present invention.

FIG. 13 illustrates that a user may elect communication preferences forthe time tracked fitness program in accordance with the presentinvention. Thereby, for example, the user may be enabled to communicatevia one or two way communication with the engine of the presentinvention that time tracks the fitness program via numerouscommunication methodologies that increase the convenience for the userof the use of the present invention. As illustrated, such methodologiesmay include, for example, SMS messages, MMS messages, e-mail, blogging,voice communications, or the like.

FIG. 14 illustrates additional health information that may preferably beobtained regarding the user prior to recommendation of a time trackedfitness program. As illustrated, it may be preferred that height,weight, body mass index, or the like may be obtained regarding the usersuch that the user's actual fitness information may be compared to thepreviously entered fitness information, such as for verification and tofurther allow for the accumulation of data, such as for targetedmarketing, advertising, or like purposes. Needless to say, it may bepreferable that such information, upon being obtained from the user, bekept strictly confidential, and as such, such information may or may notbe shared only in a marketing or advertising context in aggregated formwith the data of other users. Of course, this and additional informationmay be entered at registration, and may be modified by the user at alater time, such as automatically, including upon interaction by theuser with an electronic device, such as an automated scale, or based onthe user's participation in the fitness program and the estimatedresults obtained thereby.

FIG. 15 is a screen shot illustrating a preliminary recommendation ofseveral different programs that may work for the given user based on theinformation entered by that user at registration. Likewise, a detailedprogram may be recommended when the user modifies or enters newinformation. These recommendations may, for example, be provided by theengine discussed hereinabove, wherein the engine may take into account avariety of information entered by the user, and may additionallyincorporate available external or third party information, such as by aweb-crawl, web search, or the like, in order to generate a time trackedfitness program. In certain embodiments, this fitness programrecommendation wizard may make a minimum number of suggestions forfitness program, such as one suggestion, and may further have a maximumnumber of suggestions, such as two, three, four, or more suggestions.The programs selected by the present invention may be selected from alimited number of programs that are available, wherein each availableprogram may have associated therewith particular criteria, such as inaccordance with the criteria requested of the user. Thereafter, uponreceipt of the user criteria, the engine may make a best match for aprogram most likely to be desired by, or helpful to, the user.

FIG. 16 illustrates an exemplary screen shot in which goal progress of auser may be tracked. As illustrated, FIG. 16 may be a type of “homepage” for a given user, whereat the user's calendar, scheduling,exercise types, exercise options, and the like are available, as are theuser's goals and the user's profile. Further, the user may be enabled toview the user's fitness calendar, challenges in which the user isparticipating, and the exercise or fitness types that the user isundertaking. Additionally, the user may be enabled to quick log exerciseof particular types, such as quick logging a time tracking of unexpectedexercise, such as wherein steps are taken from a twentieth floor officebuilding to depart the building upon hearing a fire drill.

Further, as illustrated in the exemplary screen shot of FIG. 17,secondary home pages may optionally update the user as to challengeprogress, personal goal progress, present advertisements, or the like.As such, to the extent the user is not yet participating in a challengeor has not yet set personal goals, the secondary home screen may providean opportunity to update challenges or personal goals.

FIG. 18 is an exemplary embodiment of a key aspect of the presentinvention—namely, the calendar that tracks the time track of the fitnessprogram. As illustrated, the calendar tracks scheduled exerciseactivities, such as particular videos, and such as other scheduledactivities. Further, the calendar allows for the tracking of completionof the timed activities, such as by a user checking on the activity witha green box, or by checking on the activity with a red box to indicatethe task was not completed in a timely manner. Further, the calendar,illustrated in FIG. 18, including the days, times, duration, activities,and the like, may be downloaded in whole to a personal calendar, such asan Outlook calendar, as will be understood to those skilled in the art.Further, based on the previously discussed user communicationpreferences, individual activities, or a calendar in whole or in part,may be communicated to the user via SMS/MMS, e-mail, or the like. Forexample, FIG. 19 illustrates synchronization of the calendar shown inFIG. 18 with an offline calendar, such as a Google calendar or Outlookcalendar. Further, other events may be entered into the calendar, suchas unexpected timed events. This is illustrated with greaterparticularity in FIG. 20, wherein a quick log allows for a user to enterin an activity and a duration and upload that activity as a completedactivity to the calendar. Further, the quick log capability may, becausethe quick logged activity is not part of the recommended program,further allow for the engine of the present invention to assess aquality of time of the exercise entered. That is, the user may receivethe precise time of the activity as credited time for the time trackedfitness program, or may receive greater time credit for a more strenuousactivity or less time credit for a less strenuous activity.

FIG. 21 illustrates with greater particularity an aspect of arecommended program. As shown, a walking program may have variousoptions within the program, wherein options not yet selected by the usermay indicate, such as by a plus sign, that those options may be add-ableby the user, and wherein options already selected by the user mayinclude a minus sign, such as to be deleted from the program by theuser. Needless to say, the addition or deletion of a program aspect fromthe overall program may be employed to update the calendar discussedhereinabove. FIG. 22 is similar to FIG. 21, with the exception that FIG.22 is illustrative of an exemplary running program. Likewise, FIG. 23 issimilar to FIGS. 21 and 22, but FIG. 23 illustrates a proposed videoprogram.

FIG. 24 is an exemplary illustration that a user may make recommendedpurchases through the present invention. Products advertised may beapplicable to the user's selected time tracked fitness program and/ormay be sponsored products or advertisements. For example, a user may beenabled to join a gym for time tracked fitness credits in the user'stime tracked program, wherein a recommended gym may be geographicallyassessed as local to the user, such as based on the user's GPS positionon a mobile device or based on the user's IP address. Similarly, FIG. 25illustrates recommended healthy diets for use in conjunction with theuser's recommended time tracked fitness program. Foods may includethird-party products or services, such as through sponsoredadvertisements or based on recommendations.

FIG. 26 is an exemplary illustration of motivation to be used to keep auser exercising in accordance with the prescribed time tracked fitnessprogram. Such motivation, may include, for example, motivationalsayings, photos, such as of the user in a previous fitness state, chartsof progress towards personal goals, and the like. Favorite motivationaltactics may be indicated by the user, so that the most motivationalmaterial for a particular user can be provided to the user on a regularbasis. The use of such motivational favorites is illustrated in theexemplary embodiment of screen shot in FIG. 27.

The screen shot of FIG. 28 illustrates, as discussed hereinabove, thatgoals and progress may be updated by the user as the user improves andfollows the recommended program. Upon receipt of such updates, theengine may create new recommendations, either in part or in whole for atime tracked fitness program for that user.

FIG. 29 illustrates an exemplary challenge for a user. In preferredembodiments, the current challenge is indicated to the user, andprogress towards the current challenge is tracked. For example, theaforementioned engine may calculate, such as on a daily basis, thepercentage of total minutes that the user has achieved, and may comparethat value with the percentage of days that have already passed in thechallenge. In preferred embodiments, challenges may be shared withfriends, such as using a widget or via an invite to join the underlyingwebsite of the present invention.

Challenges, or competitions, may also be created by the user, and otherusers may be invited to join such challenges. This is illustrated withgreater particularity in FIG. 30. A created challenge may be announced,such as several days in advance of the beginning of the challenge.Challenge results may be viewed in real time until a new challenge isannounced, and as such, progress among competitors may be tracked inreal time. Challenges may be organized by team, or by individual. Forexample, in a team challenge, a particular team, such as co-workers at aparticular company, may participate in the challenge against otherteams, such as other personnel from other companies. In a teamchallenge, individual competitors may or may not be shown, but theprogress of each team versus the user's team may be viewable in realtime. In a preferred embodiment, in an individual challenge, theprogress of individual competitors may be shown as against the user tothe user. Creation of an individual challenge is illustrated in theexemplary embodiment of FIG. 31. Challenges in which a user is activelyparticipating may be viewable to the user, such as illustrated in FIG.32. As mentioned above, progress versus competitors in a challenge maylikewise be available to the user, such as is illustrated in FIG. 33.Further, FIG. 34 illustrates that a trophy case may be provided, such aswhen trophies are obtained by the user upon completion of challenges,upon victories in challenges, either as an individual or a team, or thelike.

FIGS. 35-38 illustrate the updating of health information pursuant toparticipation in a time tracked fitness program recommended by thepresent invention. As discussed throughout, the correspondentinformation may be updated by a user, or may be at least partiallyautomatically updated by the engine by the present invention inaccordance with the user's participation level in the program, or may beautomatically updated by association of the user with electronicdevices, such as with a scale, for example. Further, the presentinvention allows for the tracking of detailed data not available in theprior art, in part because the user's height, weight, body mass index,or the like is known, and the user's exercise level is likewise known.Further known are the preferred activities of the user that lead to theimprovement or the decline in fitness levels. Additionally, asillustrated in FIGS. 35-38, the updating of health information isvisually simplistic, such as wherein red is used for a worseningcondition, and green is illustrative of an improving condition.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate, in light of the discussionherein, that challenges may receive titles to allow users todifferentiate between challenges, and that such titles may be setadministratively or by users, for example. Different titles anddifferent criteria may indicate different challenges, such as differentlengths of challenges, different types of challenges, or the like. Forexample, an active New Year's Challenge may be a title that indicates achallenge that lasts for four weeks in January, just after the New Year,and that requires a user to accumulate 600 minutes of exercise over thefour week period. A March Madness challenge may occur for three weeks inMarch, such as overlapping with the NCAA basketball tournament, and mayrequire that a user accumulates 600 minutes over a three week timeperiod, but that the user may get double minutes for every strenuousexercise video class taken. Likewise, users may get bonus minutes forattempting certain new activities, or for trying a particular number ofdifferent activities over the course of a month, a quarter, or the like.

Needless to say, and as discussed above with respect to FIGS. 1, 2, and3, the engine of the present invention may include an administrative“back end,” wherein the administrative back end may allow foradministrative functions by authorized administrative users, such asincluding the generation of new programs. As illustrated in the screenshot of FIG. 39, an administrative user who is authorized to have accessto new programs may access a new program generator screen, wherefrom newprograms may be created to be offered to users. New programs mayinclude, for example, a category of the program such that the programmay be matched to appropriate fitness level users, and such that theprogram may be properly categorized on the site for selection by users;a title of the program; an activity in the program; a duration of theprogram, noting that the program might have a start date but not an enddate; a frequency for the program, such as the number of sessions in aparticular week, which frequency may change over the course of aprogram; the recommended days of the week for each session within theprogram, which may likewise change over the duration of the program; andsession durations specified in minutes per session and aggregatedminutes for the total program, which may likewise change over the courseof the program. These program values may then be calculated foroptimized impact based on time tracking of the entered fitness program,wherein the optimal program is then populated to the user's calendarwith activity dates and times for the program entered.

Similarly, FIG. 40 illustrates a challenge generator for the creation ofchallenges by administrative users. The challenge generator may beavailable only to administrative users for particular challenges, notingthat, and as discussed above, certain challenges may also be availablefor generation by individual users who are not administrators. Theadministrative challenge generator may require entry of the name of thechallenge, as that name will be seen by users; a description of thechallenge, as the description will be seen by users; the start and enddate of the challenge; the goal of the challenge, which may be fixed forvariable, for example, and whether the obtaining of goal rewards, suchas a trophy in the aforementioned trophy case, may occur; any availablebonus minutes, which preferably includes the activities, that, if any,allow for the earning of bonus minutes; and of the start and end of themessage dates, such as for messages inviting users to join thechallenge.

FIG. 41 illustrates a screen shot, preferably available toadministrators, that illustrates a key that may be used to match auser's answers to registration questions to exercise preference andintensity options, by way of by way of non-limiting example. FIG. 42illustrates, with greater particularity, the association of a key withparticular exercises, as discussed above with respect to FIG. 41.Moreover, FIG. 43 is an illustration of an administrative view ofprogram names matched with program codes, program keys and programdescriptions/description codes. Challenges may be included in theadministrative screens of FIGS. 42, 42 and 43, by way of non-limitingexample.

FIG. 44 is an illustration of a user's side interface for a mobileapplication in accordance to the invention discussed hereinabove. Asillustrated, and in preferred embodiments, the previously discussedquick log may be available in order to have the user enter unexpectedexercise time to his or her account for time tracking associated withsuch unscheduled activity. Further, and as illustrated, a user may beenabled to find a gym proximate to the user's GPS location, and/or tocheck-in to that gym location; to mark a scheduled activity, such as onthe user's calendar, as done; to check progress towards a challenge theuser is participating in, or the like.

FIG. 45 illustrates with greater particularity an exemplary embodimentof a quick log on a mobile device. As shown, the user may be enabled toenter or access, such as via a drop-down, the date of the event to bequick logged, the duration of the event, and the type of activityengaged in for the unexpected exercise.

Those of skill in the art will appreciate that the herein describedsystems and methods may be subject to various modifications andalternative constructions. There is no intention to limit the scope ofthe invention to the specific constructions described herein. Rather,the herein described systems and methods are intended to cover allmodifications, alternative constructions, and equivalents falling withinthe scope and spirit of the invention and its equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system of providing a schedule for improvingfitness of a user by tracking activity time: at least one user interfaceinstantiated by computing code stored remotely over a network from theuser in at least one non-transitory computer readable medium andsuitable for accepting a plurality of user information regarding theuser; at least one database stored in at least one of the at least onenon-transitory computer readable medium and comprising a plurality ofexercise activities coded at least by time; a matching engine comprisingcomputing code executed from at least one of the at least onenon-transitory computer readable medium and suitable for selecting afitness program comprising ones of the plurality of exercise activitiesmatched, by the matching engine and correspondent to the respectivecoded times, to the plurality of user information; and an electroniccalendar of the fitness program provided to at least one of the at leastone user interface for the user, communicative with the matching engineand suitable for receiving updates from the user regarding completion ofthe coded times for each of the matched ones of the exercise activitiesof the fitness program.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the pluralityof user information comprises current activity level of the user.
 3. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the plurality of user information comprisesat least two of height, weight, body mass index, and current fitnesslevel of the user.
 4. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality ofexercise activities comprises at least one of walking, running, andparticipatory video watching.
 5. The system of claim 1, wherein thematching engine is suitable for modifying the fitness program inaccordance with the received updates from the electronic calendar. 6.The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one user interface comprisesat least a stationary user interface and a mobile user interface.
 7. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the network at least partially comprises acellular network.
 8. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality ofexercise activities comprises at least one of aerobic exercise,weightlifting, and yoga.
 9. The system of claim 1, wherein the receivedupdates are received at least partially in real time during the activitytime.
 10. The system of claim 1, wherein the received updates arereceived at least partially from a mobile device.
 11. A system ofproviding a schedule for improving fitness of a plurality of users bytracking active time: at least one administrative user interfaceinstantiated by computing code stored in at least one non-transitorycomputer readable medium and suitable for accepting a plurality ofchallenges for ones of the plurality of users, wherein each of theplurality of challenges comprises at least aggregated active time; atleast one database stored in at least one of the at least onenon-transitory computer readable medium, and comprising a plurality ofexercise activities selectable for inclusion in ones of the plurality ofchallenges and coded in the at least one database at least by time; achallenge engine comprising computing code executed from at least one ofthe at least one non-transitory computer readable medium and suitablefor providing to select ones of the plurality users the ones of theplurality of challenges related, according to the at least oneadministrative user interface, to the select ones of the plurality ofusers, wherein the aggregated active time comprises at least a summationof the coded time of each of ones of the plurality of activities in therelated ones of the plurality of challenges; and an electronic calendarprovided to each of the select ones of the plurality of users thatillustrates to the select one of the users accessing the electroniccalendar at least progress of the select one of the users toward theaggregated active time of the related ones of the plurality ofchallenges.
 12. The system of claim 11, wherein the aggregated activetime further comprises bonus time accorded ones of the plurality of theplurality of activities in the related ones of the plurality ofchallenges.
 13. The system of claim 12, wherein the bonus time comprisesnegative time summed to the coded time.
 14. The system of claim 12,wherein the bonus time comprises additive time summed to the coded time.15. The system of claim 11, wherein the electronic calendar furtherillustrates to the select one of the users at least progress of othersof the select ones of the users participating in the related ones of theplurality of challenges.
 16. The system of claim 11, wherein theelectronic calendar further illustrates to the select one of the usersat least aggregated progress of others of the select ones of the usersparticipating in the related ones of the plurality of challenges. 17.The system of claim 11, wherein the challenge engine illustrates to theselect one of the users at least aggregated progress of others of theselect ones of the users participating in the related ones of theplurality of challenges.
 18. A method of providing a schedule forimproving fitness of a user by tracking active time: instantiating, bynon-transitory computing code, a user interface for accepting aplurality of user information regarding the user; storing, in anon-transitory computer readable medium, a plurality of exerciseactivities coded at least by time; matching, using non-transitorycomputing code, of ones of the plurality of exercise activities,according to the respective coded times, to the plurality of userinformation to generate a recommended fitness program; and calendaringthe recommended fitness program to receive updates from the userregarding completion of the respective coded times for each of thematched ones of the exercise activities of the fitness program.
 19. Themethod of claim 18, further comprising challenging the user to completethe respective coded times of ones of the plurality of exerciseactivities in competition with other users.
 20. The method of claim 20,wherein the plurality of user information comprises at least a currentactivity level, and wherein said matching comprises matching accordingto the current activity level.